A tip is a form of appreciation for a job well done. It is common with the hospitality industries. Even so, tips have been used today in other areas too. When you get an excellent service regardless, you can always throw in an extra dollar as a way of saying – thank you.

So how can you tip your tattoo artist? Well, after getting a great tattoo, you can always throw in that extra dollar. Not so fast. Many factors come into play. Take a look at what we have gathered.

Is It Right to Tip a Tattoo Artist?

Yes. People tip tattoo artists. However, it is not a must. Giving a tattoo artist a tip depends solely on your willingness. The same applies to what you’ll provide. In the United States, we will deliver anywhere between 20% and 30% of what the artist charges.

Even so, we aren’t bound by that. If you are willing to give less or more, feel free to do so. The truth is this. If someone provides us with the best-personalized services, it does not harm tip them as a way of appreciating their service.

This is different when you are buying groceries. Buying groceries is not a personalized service. As such, we pay the sum of what we have purchased plus the inclusive taxes. When tattooing, we don’t get direct products.

Why Should You Tip Your Artist?

There are many reasons why you should tip your tattoo artist. In this section, I will take a look at a few of them.

• Tip for a job well done
• As a form of appreciation of the time taken
• To encourage the person to maintain their standards
• For exceeding your expectations
• If you are feeling philanthropic

I have gone to a tattoo shop that worked to support their charity. On such rare occasions, if you can justify the course through internet checks, you can tip. This is a great way also to support a just course. There are many courses, such as:

• Helping orphaned kids
• Feeding the homeless
• Cleaning local parks
• Visiting the elderly

When Shouldn’t You Tip the Artist?

While there are many reasons why you should tip your tattoo artist, there are other reasons why you shouldn’t. Some of the reasons to avoid giving tips include.

• If the services were poor
• If the artist didn’t pay attention to you
• If what you expected is not what you got
• For a lousy job with the wrong ink
• If the price charged is exorbitant

In short, before you give a tip, make sure that you evaluate the overall performance. Consider how the tattoo artist behaved. Ask yourself the following questions when evaluating the overall performance.

• Did they follow your instructions?
• Did they pay attention to you?
• Or were they attending to three clients at the same time?
• Did they sterilize their tools?
• What extra service did they provide?
• Were they affordable?
• Is there any “after service” that they are providing?

Video Credit – ManlyManTv

How Much Should You Tip the Tattoo Artist?

Once you have determined all these, the next big thing is to determine how much to tip. Like I mentioned before, you can tip anything between 20% and 30% of the price. However, the standard would be 15%.

For people who are paying more such as those receiving costly tattoos that cost thousands of dollars, going with a 10% tip should be fine. But if you plan to give anything below 10%, you shouldn’t.

Some people often feel insulted by anything less than 10%. Nonetheless, what you will give depends on your willingness. You don’t have to provide if you don’t want to. Again, you should provide anything above 50% since that’s not customary and may point to a sinister motive.

In other words, if you get the tattoo inked for 200 USD, anything between 25USD to 40 USD will be fine. Always do the math to make your work easy when you finally want to tip your tattoo artist.

Tattooing, just like the services provided by waiters in a hotel, is a personalized service. As such, it would be good to give a tip when you are done. However, you should follow the factors that we have laid above.

If you find a tattoo artist that’s charging affordably, you can always stick with the 20% tip. But don’t give anything below 10%. This may not be an excellent gesture for every tattoo artist.